Costa Rican Rivers Continue to Get More Polluted

Costa Rica News – The time has come for Costa Rica to start putting actions to it’s “green image” and be proactive instead of reactive. The rivers in Costa Rica continue to become more and more polluted and drain off into the oceans surrounding the country.

Recently it was also discovered that about 1,000,000 households in Costa Rica had fecal matter in their tap water.

The actions of the public institutions to safeguard the areas of protection of the rivers in the Greater Metropolitan Area like the Torres, Siquiares, Uruca, Cañas and Toyogres are insufficient at best.

The general comptroller of the republic criticized the lack of organized efforts. The problem is in following the recommendations given by the National Commission of Emergencies.

The risks can worsen and over time begin to cause damage to people, the food and water supply, real estate and the environment. Various organizations, such INVU, are making efforts but they’re not coordinated or working together with municipalities.

There are many illegal buildings and crops in 6.22 acres of what is supposed to be protected area. This produces a lot of pollution which runs off into the rivers. Each municipality near one of these areas should step up and make a plan to actually protect them.

Unless something is done now in a few years it might be too late to recover.

A waste water treatment plant must be built to tend to this problem and accountability, a word that is foreign to many in Costa Rica, must happen to those continually damaging the Costa Rican environment.